Gay China Rises Up

For more than a decade, Chinese social media has given a voice to groups that have otherwise been overlooked or maligned, including the LGBT community. Although the government may have officially disapproved, and cat-and-mouse games with the authorities were common, the online world still offered a place of relative tolerance and tranquility. Over the weekend, that delicate balance seemed threatened -- until users revolted.

On Friday, Sina Weibo, a social-media platform, announced that it was banning cartoons, games and videos containing gay themes, in an effort to comply with cybersecurity laws. Users reacted furiously. By Monday, the anger had grown so intense that the service reversed course and said the "clean-up no longer targets gay content." For the government, which has long sought to restrict gay themes in media, it was a nearly unprecedented rebuke.